Printing mechanism



P. M. RAINEY.

PRINTING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION man Nov.a, 1911.

Patented Da. 21, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

P. M. RAINEY.

PRINTING MECHANISM.`

. APPLICATION FILED Nov.3. 1911.

Patented Dec. 21, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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M R VM H am y. b Y G E vm@ .ld QN. M l Y V o A Nb uw N hw@ UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE. y

PAUL M. RAINEY, OF GLEN RIDGE, NEW JERSEY, AssIGNOR To WESTERN ELECTRIC y COMPANY, INCORPORATED, OP NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

PRINTING MECHAN ISM.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec. 21 1920.

Application led November 3, 1917. Serial No. 200,088.

To all whomyt may concern:

Be it known that I, PAUL M. RAINEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Glen Rid e, in the county of Essex and State of ew Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Printin Mechanism, of which the following is a ful 4 clear, concise, and exact description.

This invention relates to printing mechanism, and more particularly to improvements in printing telegraph receiving apparatus and the like.

The principal object of this invention is to provide eiiicient and reliable means whereby a printing mechanism may be automatically arrested, when desired, to begin the first word of each new paragraph a predetermined or desired distance' from the margin or edge of the printin medium.

The invention disclosed 1n the accompany'- ing drawings is embodied in a telegraph receiving printer comprising stationary selecting mechanism, a stationary paper platen and printing elements adapted to be moved transversely of the printer. It is obvious, however, that the invention is applicable to any typewriting mechanism wherein either the. paper platen or printing mechanism is arranged for transverse movement.

For the accomplishment of the above object means are provided whereby the type carriage, for example, when returned for commencing a new line, may be arrested a suitable distance from the edge of the printing medium in order that the first word of a new paragraph may be set-in or indented without necessitating the usual loss of time and wearing of parts in spacing the type carriage step by step a sultable distance from the margin to begin a paragraph.

More specifically the invention comprisesy means whereby a normally idle member car-y ried by the type carriage may be actuated and caused to engage a suitable stop on the frame of the printer to arrest the type carriage a suitable distance from what 1s normally its initial position. Means are also provided for restoring the coperating parts of the carriage actuating or spacing mechanism the instant the type carriage is arrested. i

The above and other features of this ini vention will be fully set forth in the following description and claims and will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings in which Fi re 1 is a perspective view of a portion o a telegraph receiving printer embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken, Just to the right of the center of the selecting. mechanism and just to the right of the special code bars shown at the left of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the carriage arresting mechanism shown in Fig. 1. he invention herein disclosed embodied 1n a printing telegraph receiving apparatus deals primarily with the relative transverse movements between the platen and printing mechanism and only so much of the apparatus as is essential to a clear understanding of the invention will be described. Fora clear understanding of the printing, select- Ing and power driving mechanism necessary for the construction of a complete operative machine, reference may be made to a copendin application of Harr Pfannenstiehl, erial No. 17 3,546, filed une 8, 1917, wherein all th'e essential details are shown and described in full.

The printing mechanism herein disclosed -is of standard typewriter construction. The

type carriage 20, including the necessary printing elements and actuating leversis supported by a suitable frame 21 and rotatable shaft 22, which shaft may be journaled in the frame 21 or supported in any desired manner.- The carriage '20 is adapted'to be moved transversely of the printer from left to right step by step, or one step for each character or group of signaling impulses, and is adapted to be released and moved to the left in one Operation for beginning a new lin'e, as will presently appear. On the frame 21 is mounted a dash-pot carriage check or stop comprising a piston or. airy chamber 72, and a pist'on rod or plunger 7 3. The purpose of the carriage stop is toy `provide` means for arresting the carriage A pa r platen is indicated ati 81 with a sheet opaper or printin medium 82 passving thereover, on which t e desired characor operative members to cause the printing of the desired character or operation to bev performed. The cam shaft may be journaled in the frame of the printer or mounted in any suitable manner and is preferably controlled by clearly explamed in the above-mentioned copending a plication. Secured to the rotatable sha 22, by a key or any suitable means, is a worm-gear 71 which coperates with a rack 70 for stepping the type carriage transversely of the platen. A lockin` disk member 66 is also carried by the shaf: 22. The member 66 is normally held abutting against the end of the rack 70 by means of a spring 75, and carries two pins or extensions 67 .(only one of which is clearly shown), which are normally held s that they do not engage the member 68 or any portion of the type carriage when it is returned to its initial position, but the disk may be rotated so that the pins 67 are moved into .the ath of travel of the member 68 for certain purposes as will presently appear. The shaft 22 carries a ratchet 76 which is actuated by a'cam 80, carried by the shaft 25, coperatin with a reciprocating member 79, on the ree end of which is a member 78 carrying a pawl 77. The pawl 77, as will be clearl seen from Fig. 1, is moved forward by t e cam 80 to engage a tooth of the ratchet 76 and in returning to normal under the action of spring 83 rotates the ratchet 76 and consequently the shaft 22.

The selecting mechanism consists preferably of five selecting magnets 30, 31, 32, 33 and 34 (only three of which are shown in Fig. 2), five selecting latches 35, 36, 37, 38 and 39, and a corresponding number of selecting bars 40, 41, 42, 43 and 44, all of which are controlled by the said selecting magnets. In addition to the five selecting magnets there may be provided a starting magnet for releasing the cam shaft to start the mechanism in operation. The selecting mechanismis operated preferably by various combinations of five positive and negative selecting impulses with an additional impulse following each group of selecting impulses for releasing the c'am shaft. The impulses may preferably arrive over a single line from a distant station and may be distributed to the selecting and starting magnets by means of a Baudot distributer or an other well-known distributing s stem.

n addition to the printing of the c aracters there are various functions to be perline current impulses, as`

lcarriage forward the desired distance for effected by' the transmission o formed such, for example, as line spacing,

shift andunshift, carriage return, carriage return and paragraph indenting, etc. These various functions are performed mecha-nically, by rotating cams coperating with bell crank levers and suitable operative members.

Uarm'age retam and paragraph indent/ing.

Let us assume that a message is being v printed, and that after reaching the end of a line or sentence it is desiredjto return the type carriage and begin a new paragraph. These operations, in a telegraph receiving printer, would normally be accomplished by sending a group of impulses to effect the return of the type carrlage, which group of impulses would be followed by a sufficient number of groups of impulses vto space the the commencement ofl a new paragraph. g

Approximately .ten 'separate groups of impulses would ordinarily be required to space the carriage sufficiently for paragraph indenting. y means of applicants invention the return of the type carriage and the proper positioning of the carriage for the commencement o-f a new paragra h may be a single group of impulses. For the purpose of returning the type carriage and arresting it prematurely or a predetermined distance from its `initial starting position, `a special code bar is provided which may be selectively actuated by line current impulses. When the selecting 'bars 40 to 44 are selectively actuated to permit the code bar 50 to move forward under the action of a spring 51 it performs. three distinct functions. First, the bent-over portion 52 of the bar 50 engagesa pull-bar 53 and moves it forward into the path of a'reciprocating member 54 carried by a bell crank lever 55; The lever 55 is pivotally mounted -on a supporting rod 56 and is adapted to be, actu- 110 ated or rocked by a cam 57 during each revolution of the cam shaft 25; secondly,

4the upwardly extending arm 58 of the code bar 50 engages a member 59 which is pivotally supported on a rod 60 and moves 115 member 61 into the path of a piny 62 carried bythe pivotally supported member 63. and, thirdly, the forward movement of the member 59 rocks an arm 64 and by means of the member 65 connectedthereto rotates 120 'pull bar 53 downward and disengages the rack 70 from the worm-gear 71. The instant the rack 70 is actuated sufficiently to disen- 180 gage the worm-gear 71, the disk member 66, under the action of the spring 75, engages the offset portion 76 and holds the rack in depressed position until the type carriage is returned by the action of a suitable spring and tape 69. During the return movement of the type carriage the pin 62, rigidly secured to the lmember 63, rides up on the flange portion of the member 61, thereby raising the member 63 sothat it engages 4the head 74 of the plunger 73, and arrests the type carriage a predetermined distance from the side of the printer, and by means ofthe member 68 engaging the pins 6.7 the locking disk member 66 is forced back against the action of spring 75, thereby releasing the rack 70 and permitting it to return into` engagement With the worm-gear 71. .It is essential that the means provided for arresting the type carriage and the means provided for permitting the return of the rack -70 be so regulated or adjusted. that the rack 70 will be caused to rehgage the worm-gear 71 the instant the type carriage is arrested, so' that no time will be lost in commencing to recordvthe characters of the new line.

Carriage' return without paragraph. ndentz'ng.

1, that is, in its idle position or in such position that the member 61 does not engage the member 62 and also in such position that the pins 67, carried by the disk member'66, are moved out of the path of travel of the member 68' or any portion of the type carriage.

Therefore, since the special code bar 84 is not provided with means to actuate the member 59, the only act performed by the-forward movement of the code bar 84 is toplace the pull-bar 53 in position to be actuated by the reciprocating kmember 54. When the. sixth or starting impulse is received and the cam shaft releases, the cam 57 locks the bell crank lever 55 and in acting upon the pullbar 53 withdraws the rack 70 from engagement with the Worm-gear 71, thereby permitting thetype carriage to be returned to the extreme left-hand position by means of a e my name bodied in a telegraph receiving printer is vnot to be considered as limited to such a structure, as it is equally applicable to printing mechanism employing a stationary printing basket and a paper platen movable transversely of the printing basket, as is well known in the typewriter art.

What is claimed is:

1. In ,a telegraph receiving printer, the combination of a movable carriage, a frame for said carriage, carriage stop mechanism mounted on said frame, and means supported by said carriage and controlled by line current impulses for prematurely arresting the said carriage for beginning a neu1 paragraph. y

2. lIn a telegraph receiving printer, a movable vtype carriage, means for moving said carriage in one direction step by step, means for returning the said carriage in one operation, and a member supported by said carriage and controlled by line current impulses for automatically arresting the said carriage before it reaches its initial position for commencing a new paragraph.

3. In a telegraph receiving printer, the combination of a movable carriage, an operative member carried by said carriage, means controlled by line current impulses for advancing .the said carriage in one direction step by step, means controlled by line currents for releasing said carriage, means for returning the said carriage when released, and means controlled by line current impulses for operating said member to arrest the carriage during its return movement a predetermined distance from its initial position.

4. A printing telegraph receiver comprisying a movable carriage, a frame for said carriage, a dash-pot mounted on said frame, a normally idle` member mounted on saidcarriage, and selectively operable means controlled by line current impulses to effect engagement of said normally idle member and said dash-pot whereby the carriage may be arrestedy apredetermlned distance from its initial position. p

In Witness whereof( I hereunto subscribe PAUL M. RAINEY.

this 31st 'day of October A. D., 1917. y 

